In the 1940s outside the woods near Kalinin, Stalin had ordered NKVD executioners to slaughter fifteen thousand Polish military officers. The bodies were then thrown into rows of mass graves.

2. In the 1980s, why did Gorbachev say that there should be no more "rose-colored glasses"?

Gorbachev said that there should be no more "rose-colored glasses" and that the time had come to fill in the "blank spots"of history. He knew that there needed to be a full and ruthless assessment of what had happened in the past if real change was to ever occur in the Soviet Union.

3. As people learned about the true history of the Stalin era, why were they weary and bored?

As the people learned the true history of the Stalin era, they protested that they were weary and bored. However, they were actually in pain and shock from being made to learn the truth about the atrocities that occurred during Stalin's reign.